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That's unfortunate, but I don't think the appeals of the iPhone are really that applicable to blind persons for reasons like this. A touch interface isn't going

That's unfortunate, but I don't think the appeals of the iPhone are really that applicable to blind persons for reasons like this. A touch interface isn't going to work very well without visual feedback, even if the mentioned issues are fixed; it would be better to search for a device more well-suited.

stcredzero 17y ago
Android is well positioned to dominate in this niche. I can imagine an Android distro optimized for accessibility. Someone should make it their business to provide smartphone hardware and software for the blind.
- rabidsnail 17y ago
  According to wikipedia there are an estimated 40 million blind people in the entire world. If we assume a global population of 6 billion, that's 0.007% of people. And a large portion of those people live in a state of poverty. So, not a very big market. Doesn't seem worthwhile unless you can get governments or private charities to give you money to develop it.
  - silencio 17y ago
    What happens is that there are companies that will work on products like that, and then they will go on to sell said product for hundreds if not thousands of dollars (if not more) to justify the cost of designing and producing the product. On the other hand, voiceover comes with all iPhone 3GSes and voiceover on Mac OS X is free and comes built into the OS (even during OS installs!). I guess that's Apple's way of telling blind people that Apple doesn't care about them and they should go buy other products..
  - fungi 17y ago
    aging population throughout the developed world == rich blind old ppl. i've seen simplified mobiles (look and work like a cordless home phone) in japan aimed squarely at this growing market.
    - sunir 17y ago
      A key point buried here: the aging population cannot use iPhones because the fonts are too small. Give an iPhone to someone older who needs reading glasses, as I have (with my parents, in-laws). I find they understand the natural affordances of the iPhone interface pretty quickly, which is a testament to the good job Apple did there, but they often just cannot read the screen.
      - rabidsnail 17y ago
        That's a separate problem from adding accessibility for blind people. The obvious ways to make touchscreen phones easier for old people are larger buttons and text, and exaggerated visual cues, which help blind people not at all.
  - storborg 17y ago
    I think you mean 0.7% of people, which is not necessarily a small market. Developing a sophisticated consumer electronics product like the iphone may be expensive, but developing a few software apps for it isn't necessarily, especially if you can dominate the market for the accessible phone. That said, I would agree that there are more compelling markets out there. I wouldn't be surprised if most accessibility developers have altruistic motives.
    - gaius 17y ago
      If it makes commercial sense, you don't have to legislate for it.
  - windsurfer 17y ago
    I'm not deaf or hearing impaired but I enjoy watching TV shows and movies with subtitles.
silencio 17y ago
The accessibility features on the iPhone are constantly improving with each update to the iPhone OS and are quite impressive for what is an all-touch interface. While there are bugs and inaccessible applications, I have talked to and worked with visually impaired folks that love the iPhone as an alternative accessible phone to whatever else they were using before it. Obviously they can't just go and play whatever game or use any app they want, but for many apps the general interface is predictable and fairly simple to navigate and discover. For the author of the above-linked article to claim that Apple's purposefully making voiceover suck to annoy the blind is a bit rich and ill-informed, given Apple's accessibility team want to help, are very helpful if you ever email them about issues (accessibility@apple.com), and could probably address most of those issues as best they can if they were informed of them. A true "fuck you" to the blind would be to not have included voiceover on the iPhone 3GS in the first place.

stcredzero 17y ago

Android is well positioned to dominate in this niche. I can imagine an Android distro optimized for accessibility. Someone should make it their business to provide smartphone hardware and software for the blind.

rabidsnail 17y ago
According to wikipedia there are an estimated 40 million blind people in the entire world. If we assume a global population of 6 billion, that's 0.007% of people. And a large portion of those people live in a state of poverty. So, not a very big market. Doesn't seem worthwhile unless you can get governments or private charities to give you money to develop it.
- silencio 17y ago
  What happens is that there are companies that will work on products like that, and then they will go on to sell said product for hundreds if not thousands of dollars (if not more) to justify the cost of designing and producing the product. On the other hand, voiceover comes with all iPhone 3GSes and voiceover on Mac OS X is free and comes built into the OS (even during OS installs!). I guess that's Apple's way of telling blind people that Apple doesn't care about them and they should go buy other products..
- fungi 17y ago
  aging population throughout the developed world == rich blind old ppl. i've seen simplified mobiles (look and work like a cordless home phone) in japan aimed squarely at this growing market.
  - sunir 17y ago
    A key point buried here: the aging population cannot use iPhones because the fonts are too small. Give an iPhone to someone older who needs reading glasses, as I have (with my parents, in-laws). I find they understand the natural affordances of the iPhone interface pretty quickly, which is a testament to the good job Apple did there, but they often just cannot read the screen.
    - rabidsnail 17y ago
      That's a separate problem from adding accessibility for blind people. The obvious ways to make touchscreen phones easier for old people are larger buttons and text, and exaggerated visual cues, which help blind people not at all.
- storborg 17y ago
  I think you mean 0.7% of people, which is not necessarily a small market. Developing a sophisticated consumer electronics product like the iphone may be expensive, but developing a few software apps for it isn't necessarily, especially if you can dominate the market for the accessible phone. That said, I would agree that there are more compelling markets out there. I wouldn't be surprised if most accessibility developers have altruistic motives.
  - gaius 17y ago
    If it makes commercial sense, you don't have to legislate for it.
- windsurfer 17y ago
  I'm not deaf or hearing impaired but I enjoy watching TV shows and movies with subtitles.

silencio 17y ago

The accessibility features on the iPhone are constantly improving with each update to the iPhone OS and are quite impressive for what is an all-touch interface. While there are bugs and inaccessible applications, I have talked to and worked with visually impaired folks that love the iPhone as an alternative accessible phone to whatever else they were using before it. Obviously they can't just go and play whatever game or use any app they want, but for many apps the general interface is predictable and fairly simple to navigate and discover. For the author of the above-linked article to claim that Apple's purposefully making voiceover suck to annoy the blind is a bit rich and ill-informed, given Apple's accessibility team want to help, are very helpful if you ever email them about issues (accessibility@apple.com), and could probably address most of those issues as best they can if they were informed of them. A true "fuck you" to the blind would be to not have included voiceover on the iPhone 3GS in the first place.